PocketWatch, Locket and Loneliness
by BlueKittyGal
Summary: More of a prologue than an actual story, but you can't read the longer sequel, Pieces of the Puzzle, without first reading this. [EdxOC EnvyxOC]
1. How about, Ruby?

Laughter broke through the hot summer air as children played sidewalk games in the small town of Moroa. The townsfolk all stopped to greet each other as they passed, occasionally stopping to glance down a small alley in the center of the market place, looking for the nameless child. Two people came walking down the street, a blonde boy and a large suite of armor, talking about some kind of stone. They stopped in front of the alley, talking in low tones. A little kid ran passed, followed by some others. They ran down the alley, stopping in front of a pile of boxes.

"I dare you to throw somethin' at her!" One of them whispered.

"No way, I'm not gonna get near that thing!" The other replied, stepping back. The children whispered among themselves and the blonde boy came up behind them. He tapped one of them on the shoulder then asked them what they were doing.

"There's a weird girl who lives on the other side of the boxes," one of them replied. "She just sits there all day, and never moves from the spot!" Edward Elric looked at the boxes then signaled for his brother to come over. The kids ran off at the sight of the massive armor. He told Alphonse what the kids said, then crept closer at the sound of sniffling. He peered over the edge of one of the boxes, and saw a girl, about 14 or 15, leaning against the wall of boxes wrapped up in an old, dirty sheet. She was crying, and didn't seem to notice as the two walked up to her.

"Hey there," Ed said, putting his hand on her shoulder. The girl looked up and pulled the sheet tighter around herself. She had brown hair just shorter then shoulder length, but with a small section of long black hair she kept tied with a piece of rope. Under her right eye was a red tattoo-looking mark. The girl jerked her shoulder away from Ed, who let her. He stared at her as painful memories rushed to his mind at the familiar sight of her.

"Go away," the girl said her voice weak from little use. "Go away. Leave me alone." She began to cry again, letting the sheet she was holding drop a little. Around her neck was a silver locket, a small red gem gleaming in the center. "Just go away, okay? D-don't you think I've been laughed at enough?" She looked back at the Elrics, who were just looking at her, blank expressions on their faces. The girl began to look puzzled. Ed put his hand out, his face looking friendly.

"Come on," he said. "We'll get you something to eat." Al looked down at his brother. _Did he really believe this girl was her..?_ "By the way, I'm Ed an' this is my brother, Al." Al snapped out of his thoughts.

"Hi..!" He said only half paying attention. Ed turned to the girl and helped her stand up.

"You must have a name." He inquired. "What is it?" The girl looked at her feet.

"I-I don't know," she mumbled. "I never really knew anyone who could tell me, either." Ed seemed a little distracted for a moment, then took her hand and lead her out of the alley.

"Well, we need to think of something, don't we?" He said. "That's a pretty locket you've got." He lifted the locket from her chest and looked at it. "I bet you anything that's a ruby in there." He looked back at the girl. "Why don't we call you Ruby?"

"Ruby..? It's a pretty name, Yes, I like that." She said. Al looked at Ed. _Brother, I hope you aren't trying to do what I think you are,_ He thought.

"It's settled then. Your name is now Ruby." Ed smiled and Ruby looked as happy as she could, being so scrawny she could barely walk and talk at the same time.

"So, Ruby," Al said, watching Ruby scarf down a plate of pasta. "You don't know who you are, where you're from or anything about yourself?" Ruby swallowed.

"All I know is this locket means something about my past, and I can't give it up or else I might never know anything." She replied, then leaned back and gave a content sigh. "Why are you guys being so nice to me?" 

Ed looked at Al then replied, "We're just nice people, I guess." Ed and Al paid the bill then they took Ruby to a shop. 

"What's this place?" She asked with wonder. Ruby had always stayed away from everything, always to herself.

"It's a clothing store." Al answered. "You can't keep going around in that old sheet, can you?" Ruby smiled.

"New clothes," She whispered. They walked in, and after a while, Ruby decided on a pair of denim Capri's and a purple sleeveless shirt that tied around the side of her neck. She got some socks and sneakers, though Ed wouldn't let her wear anything until she had cleaned up.

"You can stay with us in our hotel room." Ed offered. "But you'll have to get used to us being lazy in the morning." Al chuckled. They walked into the hotel, but the manager stopped them.

"I'm sorry, no shirt, no shoes, no service." He said, eying up Ruby with a disgusted look. Ed stepped in front of her.

"She's staying with us. We'll serve her you just have to serve us." He said then lead the way to his and Al's room.

"It's soft to stand in here." Ruby commented. "It must be nice staying in places like this all the time." Ed smiled.

"It better be soft for what they charge. Anyway, you'll want to get cleaned up. The bathroom's over there." Ed pointed to a door on the right. "You know how to use a shower, right?"

"Yes." She replied. "I may not remember a lot of things but showers are just common sense." Ruby walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. She put her foot under the faucet to test the temperature, sighing as the warm water soothed her sore foot.

Three figures stood around in a dark room. "So, did it work, Envy?" Asked a woman's voice. Another voice answered, this one male.

"Hook, line and sinker. The girl is doing just as we'd hoped, and the boys are playing along with it."

"Good." The woman said.

"Lust," came another male's voice. "What do we do once we have the Elric's?" The woman spoke again.

"You'll see, Gluttony." She answered. She laughed a little. "This will all work out perfectly,"


	2. Just get up already, Ed!

"Brother?" 

"Yeah, Al? What is it?" Edward sat up from lying on the couch. Al, who was sitting on his bed, looked down at the ground.

"You think it's her, don't you?" He asked. Ed looked at his brother. "You think that-"

"It _is_ her, Al. It has to be!" Ed slumped back onto the couch, listening as rain began to fall. "She was afraid of storms, remember? Well, a storm is coming. If she's afraid, that'll prove it!" Al sighed, a distant crash of thunder sounding in the distance.

Ruby came out wearing her new clothes. "How do I look?" She asked. Ed and Al both stood up. Ed smiled.

"You look great." He said. Thunder sounded, closer this time. Ruby looked out the window, flinching as lightning flashed across the sky. Ed looked at Al, who sighed. _Brother, even if this is her, that must mean that,_ He trailed his thoughts off. He knew he couldn't deny the facts, it had to be her, and he didn't want to bring down his brother after seeing how happy he's been since they found her.   
Ruby sat down on the couch, and Ed sat next to her.

"Ruby," Al started. "Do you remember anything from your past?" Ruby looked at her feet, jumping on Ed as thunder sounded over head. She blushed and moved back onto her side of the couch, shaking a little.

"I don't really remember anything much, though you two seemed sort of familiar. But," She trailed off for a moment. Ed put his hand on her shoulder. Ruby continued. "I keep having this dream, about a girl, older then me, Winry was her name. Have you heard of her?" Ruby looked at Ed, who was looking at Al.

"Yeah, she's the one who made these." Ed showed her his left leg and right arm. Ruby gasped.

"They're metal!" She winced as more lightning flashed, then clung to Ed when the power went out. "I'm sorry, I'm just so afraid of storms," Ed put his arm around her.

"It's okay." He said. Ed smiled down at her, and Ruby yawned.

"Brother, I think we should get to bed now." Al said. Ed sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Al. Hey Ruby, you can take my bed, and I'll-" Ed stopped. Ruby was already asleep. Ed stroked his fingers through her hair before he carried her over to his bed. He laid her down and tucked her in, then took a spare blanket from under the bed. He was about to go over to the couch when he heard Ruby murmur something.

"Good night, Edward Elric," Ed looked at Al, but he was asleep already. _We never told her our last name,_ He thought. That was it, it really, truly had to be her. 

Lust stared out at the large moon through an arched window. Footsteps sounded behind her. "Will things be ready by tomorrow, Gluttony?" She asked without looking.

"Envy said things are all ready." Came the reply. Lust smiled.

"Tell Envy that he is to fetch her as soon as they've woken up." She ordered. Gluttony looked at her for a moment.

"I'll tell him." He responded. "Can I grab a snack on the way?" He peered at some people grouped together through the window.

"No." Lust looked at him. "We don't want to draw any more attention to ourselves then necessary."

Al was the first one awake that morning. He sat up, then looked over to Ed's bed and saw Ruby. He walked over to the couch where Ed was and shook him awake. "Brother, wake up." He said.

"Five more minutes," Came the muffled response. Al pulled the blanket off him. Ed sat up. "C'mon Al, it's early,"

"It's nine o'clock." Al stated. Ed opened his eyes. He looked over at his bed.

"How come you woke me up but not her?" He complained.

"Just get up already, Ed!" Came Ruby's voice. She stood up and stretched. "Nice day out, too," She commented, opening the window a crack.

"It sure is," came a voice from outside the window. The three of them looked at the window in bewilderment. Ed's eyes widened as he realized who this was. He stepped in front of Ruby. A figure appeared outside the window, but the sun was too bright to tell who it was. "Now, if the young lady would kindly come with me." He said mockingly, bursting through the window. Ed transmuted his right arm into a sharp blade.

"Back off," Ed warned. The figure laughed.

"Surely you don't think you can kill me, do you?" Ruby looked confused by all this. What did he have to do with her?

"Who are you?" She asked. Ed looked back at her, hoping she wouldn't go with him.

"I'm Envy, but I think the real question is, who are _you_?" Envy stepped forward. Ruby stayed close behind Edward.

"Don't listen to anything he tells you. Whenever he or the others like him show up, it's usually trouble." Al whispered to Ruby, but Envy still heard him.

"If I recall, you're the ones who decide to interfere with us and start the trouble." Envy taunted. "Now, enough of this, the girl comes with me." At that, he ran to the left side of the room, and Ed chased after him. Envy ran toward Ruby, but Al stood in front of her.

"Keep back!" He said. "I'm warning you!" Envy laughed then ran around Al, but Ed slashed into his arm before he could grab Ruby, who began to cry.

"Stop!" She called. "Stop it!" They all turned and looked at her. Envy took that to his advantage and picked her up, carrying her toward the window. Ed and Al were after him in an instant, but Envy didn't get far before he dropped Ruby, clutching his arm in pain. He looked back at her as he climbed out the window.

"Now that I know what you can do, I won't drop you next time." He said. Ed slashed his arm at him, but instead he hit the wall. Ruby ran over and hugged him.

"Why was that man after me?" She cried. Tears rolled down her cheek, landing on Ed's auto-mail arm. Ed pushed Ruby away.

"What're you trying to do to me!" He yelled. Ruby looked at his arm. It had steam coming off of it.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know I could do that," Ruby stopped crying. Ed and Al looked at each other.

"It's OK. If I'd have known, I would have kept you from crying on me." Ed said. He walked over to the phone, his right arm hanging limply from his body. "I'm gonna have to call and see if Winry can make a trip down here to repair this." Ruby looked at him.

"Winry..?" She echoed. Ed had forgotten what Ruby had said, about the dreams. He'd also forgotten who Winry was to her.


	3. Nice to see you, too

Knocking on the door interrupted the game of cards Ed, Al and Ruby were playing. Ed stood up and answered the door.

"You're lucky Moroa is only a few hours away." Winry snapped, pushing her way inside. "I thought I'd told you to be careful with your auto-ma-" She stopped with barely a foot in the door, looking in at where Ruby and Al were still playing Go Fish. She grabbed Ed and walked outside the room with him.

"Nice to see you too," Ed grunted. Winry looked hard at him.

"What are you trying to do to me!" She fought back tears that were forming in her eyes. Ed looked at her for a moment.

"I'm sorry." He said. He looked down at his feet.

"I suppose you think it's funny? Finding someone who looks like Ruby did, then calling me out here without warning?" Winry turned around and began to cry.

"It _is_ Ruby, Winry." He said. Winry turned around, anger mixed with sadness clear on her face.

"It's not Ruby, Edward. Ruby is-"

"Dead?" A voice sounded from the doorway. Ed and Winry looked over to see Ruby and Al standing there.

"Al, what did you say to her?" Ed snapped. Winry began to cry again.

"I told her the truth, brother! I denied it at first but it's the truth and she deserves to know it!" Al said. Ruby looked down at her feet. _All I am is an empty vessel, a remake of what used to be, I have no soul,_ the thoughts tugged at her like a weight.

"Al, did you also tell her who Winry is? I suppose you did, huh!" Ed was furious. "Did you tell her about you and me? Did you tell her about how she died?" Ruby began to cry.

"That's enough, you two!" Winry snapped. "If you knew all along whom she was then why didn't you tell me before? Why didn't you tell me my little sister wasn't dead?" Winry began crying. Ruby looked up at her.

"Sister..?" She muttered. "I, have a sister?" She hugged Winry. "I knew there was a reason why I used to dream about you, I just knew it!" Winry held her close.

"You aren't my sister by birth, but even adopted, you're still my little sister." Winry said. Ed looked hard at Al.

"I'm going for a walk." Al said, walking off toward the exit. Ed walked out onto the roof of the building without saying a word, leaving Winry and Ruby alone. They went back inside the room and sat down on the couch.

"They were so nice before, why are they fighting now?" Ruby asked. Winry looked over at her.

"We had our fair share of fights, too. Don't you remember anything?" She asked. Then she noticed the mark under Ruby's right eye. She fought back the thoughts that rushed her mind.

"I only remember when something familiar reminds me." Ruby stated. "Why were Ed and Al so nice to me? When they found me, they helped me out. They got me food and clothes, and now they're letting me stay with them." Winry looked fondly at her sister.

"So Ed hasn't told you yet?" She asked. Ruby looked puzzled. "Well, never mind then. I'll let him decide when to tell you." Ruby sighed.

"Why do I feel so different from everyone?" She asked suddenly.

A voice came from the window. "You're not." The girls spun around to see Envy at the window. "You're like me. You're like my colleagues." He jumped in, grabbing hold of Ruby. Winry screamed as he jumped out the window, disappearing into darkness.  
Winry ran up onto the roof.

"Edward! Get off your sorry butt and do something for a change!" She called. Ed stood up and turned to see Winry rushing over to him.

"What's wrong? Where's Ruby?" Ed asked her.

"Kidnapped, that's where, by a homunculus!" Ed gasped, worry on his face. 

"Which way did it take her?" He asked. Winry pointed to an old church building. "Okay. Go find Al and tell him what you just told me." Edward rushed past her, going in search of Ruby.

"Where am I!" Ruby demanded as Envy came into the room, followed by two others.

"You're among others like you." The woman said.

"If she doesn't cooperate, can I eat her, Lust?" A short, fat man asked. Ruby shuddered, stepping back against a wall.

"No, Gluttony." Lust replied. She turned back to Ruby. "Don't worry about him. You're safe here."

"What do you want with me?" Ruby demanded. Envy walked up right in front of her.

"All we want is your cooperation." He said. Ruby sat against the wall. "Pretty much all you need to do is stay here and not get us angry." He smiled. Ruby looked up at the three of them.

"When can I go?" She asked. Envy sat next to her.

"You won't be going anywhere without us." He said. "You belong with others of your own kind. Homunculi, if you will." Ruby stared at him. "You'll also need a new name. How's Regret sound?"

"I'm not like you! And I'm not staying here!" She stood up and ran into another room, this one with large arched windows. The escape was blocked off, and soon Envy had her arms and was dragging her back from a broken window.

"Don't get so hasty! We only want to be your friends." He taunted. Ruby jerked away sitting on the floor again. Envy laughed. "You just sit there, then."

"Look Lust!" Gluttony said, standing by a window. He was pointing down at a puppy that was wandering the streets. "Can I eat it? Please?"

"No!" Ruby cried, standing up. "It's a puppy, you can't eat a puppy!" Lust smiled.

"It seems we've found a soft spot with her. Gluttony, go bring the dog up here, but do not eat it." She stressed the last words. Gluttony sighed, jumping down from the window to get the puppy. "Here's the deal, kid," Lust walked up to her. "You agree to do as we say and the puppy lives. You disagree," she raised her hand, revealing long, sharp fingers. "The puppy is mince-meat." Her fingers quickly shrank back to normal.

"How'd you do that?" Ruby questioned. Lust laughed.

"The same way you can make acid tears." Was her short response. Gluttony came back, dropping the puppy at Ruby's feet. Ruby quickly scooped the puppy into her arms. Lust looked up at the ceiling, hearing footsteps. Envy must've heard them too, for he was pushing Ruby and the puppy back into the windowless room he had taken her before.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. Envy sat down, and Ruby sat opposite him.

"How about we name the puppy?" He said. Ruby looked puzzled for a moment before setting the dog down. The puppy was a ginger color with a small frame and curly tail. "Now, what are good puppy names?" Envy thought for a moment. "Fido, Rover, Spot?"

"You can't name a non-spotted dog Spot!" Ruby criticized. "It's a male dog from the looks of it. What do you think of Curly?" A loud crash sounded from the other room making Ruby jump. "What's going on out there?"

"Gluttony's probably just chasing a rat again." Envy said, making up as fast an excuse as possible. "Curly doesn't seem fitting somehow." Ruby looked concerned as she stared at the door.

"Maybe Sammy?" She suggested only half paying attention. Envy smiled, almost genuinely this time.

"That sounds good." He said. He stood up and pulled an old rag out of the corner of the room. He tied it in a knot then threw it to Ruby. "Dogs like tug-of-war, right?" Ruby picked up the newly-made toy and Sammy started tugging on it immediately.

"Where is she!" Edward grunted, transmuting his right arm into a blade. It hadn't been fixed yet, but blades hurt even if they're just swung limply. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lust said, jumping out of the way as Edward swung his arm at her.

"Where's Ruby? I know you have her here!" Ed pulled his arm back, preparing to swing it at her again.

"Ruby? No one here is named Ruby. At least," she smiled. "Not anymore." Ed stood still. What had they done to her?

"What did you do?" Ed asked, panting as he stood there.

"We didn't do anything. Our new colleague Regret was just coming for a house-warming party." She mocked. _Regret?_ Ed thought. _...Ruby!_

"So where is this 'new colleague'?" He asked. Lust backed against a door and knocked twice. A few moments later, Envy stepped out with Ruby struggling in his arms. "Ruby," Edward called, running over to her. Lust shot her fingers in front of him.

"One more step and she'll be in living hell the rest of her life, if you can even call it that." Lust said, coming closer to Ed. Ed grit his teeth. What could he do?

"Ed, I'll be fine if you leave me with them in peace." Ruby said, tears streaming onto the floor. Ed looked at her confused.

"No. He won't be leaving here. Unless," Lust moved her face close to his. "You can leave here with your precious Ruby if you make us a Philosopher's Stone and turn us human."

"I- I can't do that!" Edward said. He knew how many lives it would take to create one of those stones, and he didn't want to kill anyone without reason.

"You can and you will." Lust said. "We can provide you with everything you need. We could have this whole town gathered in one spot in a matter of hours, and all you'd have to do is use these fake stones along with the people of the town." Lust pulled out a handful of fake stones, and indicated that there were plenty more.

"Let my brother and Ruby go!" Came a voice. Ed and the homunculi turned to see Al standing behind them, a transmutation circle sketched on the ground in front of him. Lust stepped back, and Envy pulled Ruby away. "Let them go now!" He said. He pushed his hands onto the circle, causing a giant hand of stone to lash itself out from the ground, hitting the homunculi. Ruby struggled free, and Ed put his arm around her, in an attempt to hug her.

"Ruby, are you okay?" He asked. Ruby just stood there, wondering what was happening. Ed let go of her, heading over toward Al. Ruby began to follow, but Lust was now standing again. She stretched her fingers until there was one on either side of Edward's throat.

"No one moves or the Fullmetal boy gets his head served up on a silver platter." Ed stood still. "Regret, come back here with us. Fullmetal, now what do you say about our offer?" Ed looked down at the ground.

"If I do this, you'll let Ruby go?" He asked with a defeated sigh. Al looked up at him from where he sat, wishing he could do something.

"It's a promise." Lust said. Ed turned around.

"I'll do it for Ruby's sake." He said. Ruby began to cry. What had she gotten them into, after they'd helped her so much?


	4. I hope you can understand?

As soon as Ed and Al got back to the hotel, Winry got to work on fixing his arm.

"So, they're holding Ruby there with them until you make that stone?" Winry asked, digging through her toolbox for the right screwdriver. Ed was looking down at the floor, and Al just sat on his bed.

"I didn't even get to tell her, Winry. She was gone before I could tell her." Ed moaned as Winry began reattaching his arm. Lust had said he could have his arm fixed before creating the stone, but they would keep Ruby there with them until he returned.

"I just wish there was another way to do this." Winry said with sadness. Al looked over at them.

"Brother, are you really going to do this? Are you really going to take all those lives?" Al asked.

"I have to, Al. There's no other way." Ed responded.

"Why do you want this Philosopher's Stone anyway?" Ruby asked, watching as Envy played tug-of-war with Sammy.

"We need it if we are to become human. Otherwise we'll be damned to live like this forever." Lust replied from where she stood by a window. Ruby sighed. Why did those boys even care about her, just because they knew her sister? Or, was there more to it then that? Footsteps echoed through the room as Edward stepped in. He had told Al and Winry to stay back at the hotel.

"I'm here. My arm's fixed now." He said curtly. Envy stood up, pulling Ruby to her feet. Ed watched as he tied her wrists with rope, walking behind her as Lust led them all out of the building.

"They're all in the school building. It's pretty small you should be able to draw the transmutation circle around it." She said, leading them down a dusty street. The hot sun beat down on them as they walked. Moroa was on the edge of a desert, leaving a lot of sand and dust on the streets. Edward slowed his pace until he was in step with Ruby.

"Are you okay?" He asked her quietly. Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Don't you think we take care of our own kind?" Envy said. Ed shot a glance at him, but looked down at his feet as he remembered that Ruby was a homunculus. His feet carried him aimlessly as he was carried away into the voices of his memories.  
_"Winry, we're back! Just as we promised!"_

_  
"Yeah, we're home again. Why do you look so sad?"_

_  
"Because, Alphonse. Edward. While you were away, Ruby was killed."_ The piercing feeling he had felt when he had first heard Winry say that tugged at him once more.

"Fullmetal," he was snapped out of thought as Lust stopped. He looked up to see a small white building; the school house. "It's time."  
Ed took his time drawing up the circle. As he went along, Gluttony scattered the fake Philosopher's Stones around the inside. When he'd finished the circle, he waited for Gluttony to finish with the stones. When Gluttony was done, he stepped up to the edge of the circle.

"Hurry up." Lust said impatience in her voice. Ed looked back at her then glanced at Ruby. "If you don't make this stone and turn us human your precious little Ruby stays with us as Regret." She snapped. Ed faced the circle again, getting on his knees. He clapped his hands together then just about had them pressed against the circle when he stopped. He thought for a moment if there was anything else he could do then noticed the people in the building were looking out at him with fear. He heard crying and stopped. Lust kicked him and he started over again.

"Wait!" Ruby cried. Ed looked up and turned around. "Edward, don't!" Envy put his hand over her mouth to silence her, but she bit him and made him let go. Lust shot her an icy glare, and Ruby struggled to free herself. "Ed, don't do this."

"If you don't make the stone Ruby stays our prisoner." Lust said. Ruby broke free of Envy's grip then used her tears to get the ropes off of her wrists. 

"I'll be okay with them, Ed. Don't take all those lives just to make a few more better." She cried. Edward stood up and walked over to her. Lust pushed her fingers between them.

"Make the stone!" She demanded. Ed looked at her.

"No." He replied. He looked at Ruby. "And you're not staying with them!" He transmuted his arm into a blade, slashing at Lust. Ruby ran behind him as he ducked away into an alley.

"Get back here!" Envy called. Lust and Gluttony stayed behind to make sure no one left the building. Ed pushed his hands against the ground and a large wall of earth shot up from the ground, creating a barrier between Envy and himself, with Ruby close behind him. He and Ruby stayed there until he heard Envy run back to the other homunculi. He pushed his hands against the wall and it shrank back into the earth.

"Are you alright?" He asked Ruby. She looked at him in amazement and nodded. Ed looked down at the ground.

"Ed..?" Ruby walked over to him, her voice shaking. Ed looked her in the eyes. She seemed to be hurting, as if unsure of anything. "Ed, I think I should go back with the other homunculi."

"Ruby, what're you..?" Ed gasped. How could she even think that? They'd kidnapped her! Ruby looked down at her feet.

"It isn't so bad with them. Besides, I think I should be where I'm understood, with my own kind." She said. Tears rolled down onto the ground as Ruby looked back up at Edward. "I hope you can understand why I'm doing this. I really do care about you, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me." Ed walked up to her until he was within a foot of her. Ruby backed against the wall of the building next to her.

"'I hope you can understand'?" Edward repeated. He looked her directly in the eye, grabbing her arms and pushing her against the wall. "Ruby, in case you haven't noticed," He trailed off. She was shaking with fear. He sighed, softening his gaze. Her shaking stopped as Edward gently pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed. "In case you haven't noticed, I love you." He finished. He let go of her arms and backed away a few steps. Ruby fell to the ground crying with frustration. _He loves me? He loves a non-human, pitiful girl like me?_ She thought. "Ruby," Ed interrupted her thoughts. "If you change your mind, just tell me before I get back to the hotel. If you don't come after me, I'll assume you've chosen to find the homunculi." He turned and began to walk away down the alley. Ruby watched him for a moment then stood. Her head and heart told her to run after him, but her legs didn't listen. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out as he disappeared from sight.

When Edward returned to the hotel, he silently crept up the stairs. When he opened the door, Winry and Al rushed over to him.

"What happened? Where's Ruby?" Winry asked. Ed walked over to his bed and sat down, tears streaking his face as he explained what happened. When he had finished, he lay down and faced the wall.


	5. See you in the morning, Al

"Well, your arm is fixed. I guess I should be going now." Winry said. She packed up her toolbox, putting away all the spare parts. She tried to mask her sadness, but it was hard when they were all sad.

"I'm sorry Ruby left, but you can't blame her." Al said. Ed and Winry looked at him. "She feels scared and alone. I remember when I though I had just been created, all my memories fake, and all I wanted was to be left alone." Ed sighed and Winry said good-bye as she left them to return home. Ed walked over to the couch, lying so his back was to the world. "Brother, you still love her, don't you?"

"Well what do you think? If I didn't, why would I have gone through all of that to get her back?" The sharpness of his words kept Al silent.

Ruby shivered in the chill night air. She still hadn't seen any sign of the other homunculi and she needed a place to stay for the night. She had just checked the old church building but they had left. She found herself wandering toward the edge of town when she thought she heard a dog bark. She turned around only to see a quiet town, growing dark as the people began to turn in for the night.

"Where are they?" She whispered. She kept walking, closer to the desert with every footstep. When she reached the end of town, she saw a faint footprint in the sand. She headed out, trying to find a place she could stay until morning when a voice called her over.

"I thought you were with the Fullmetal boy," Ruby turned to see Lust standing behind her. She looked down at her feet.

"I decided I should be with others of my own kind." She replied. Lust seemed a bit shocked at first then smiled with new understanding.

"You've made a good choice. Follow me. I'll take you to where we're staying." Ruby followed her quietly to a small cave dug out of a sand dune. Outside, Envy was playing with Sammy, only half-heartedly. When Lust approached with Ruby, Sammy ran over, barking his greetings. Envy stood up. "Looks like your wish came true." Lust said, glancing at Envy. She turned to Ruby. "You can choose your name now."

"I think I want to stay Ruby." She announced, feeling a little more at-ease.

Ed and Al sat around a small fire, waiting for sleep to come as they thought about their next destination. Since there was no reason to stay in Moroa any longer, they'd left for the desert after Winry left.

"I just don't get it," Ed sighed. He stared down into the depths of the fire. "Everyone I care about always leaves me." Al looked at him.

"I didn't leave you, brother. And you know that can't be true. Look at Winry, and Rose. They've left for a while, but we always see them again." Al put more wood on the fire.

"But I almost lost you! First it was Mom, then I thought Ruby, can't forget little Nina." Ed listed those he had lost, or up to a few days ago thought he had lost. Al looked down at the ground. They had lost a lot. But for Ed, what he lost that day was more. "I'm going to sleep now. See you in the morning, Al."

"See you in the morning, brother."

Ruby sat facing the moon, drifting in and out of sleep. Sammy was by her side, occasionally twitching in his dreams. Gluttony had fallen asleep in the dugout in the sand, and Lust behind it. Envy had been sleeping outside the entrance to the dugout, but dreams had woken him. He looked over to a sand dune a few feet away.

"Can't sleep?" He asked. Ruby turned to face him and shook her head.

"I'm just thinking," She answered quietly. It was true; she was thinking if she had made the right choice. Envy walked over and sat next to her. He could tell what was bothering her.

"Do you miss them?" He asked. Ruby sighed, looking down at her feet. "You'll get over it. Don't worry," Envy smiled when he saw she was asleep. He looked up at the sky. It was a clear and bright night, the moon large and full.

It was still dark when Ruby woke up, but it was beginning to get light out. She looked next to her and saw Envy sleeping there. She stood up to stretch her legs. She walked a short way away. She saw smoke in the distance and decided to check it out; half-hoping it was Ed and Al. When she got nearer, she saw the outline of Al still sleeping then Edward appeared as she got closer. He was still asleep, too, and she knew she shouldn't wake them. Instead, she took off her locket, pulling the small pin that held the two halves together out. She put the pin in the hot ashes, separating the two halves and looking at the pictures on them. The half on the chain held a picture of Ed around the age of eleven. The back half held her picture; taken only a month before she was killed. She took the pin out of the ashes. She was very careful in handling it as she wrote on the back half of the locket a short message. When she was done, she put the half with Ed's picture around her neck again, leaving the back half in Ed's left hand. She walked away, hoping no one noticed she was gone when she got back.


	6. Thinking again?

This is the final chapter to Pocket-Watch, Locket and Loneliness. It's sequel will be up soon, called, Pieces of the Puzzle.

When Ruby returned to where the other homunculi were, she sat back down where she had been before. The sun was rising in the sky, and soon Envy began to wake up. She sighed, wondering if Ed would come looking for her or if he would let it be.

"Thinking again?" Envy asked. Ruby looked over at him.

"Sort of," she responded.

"Do you know how you died?" Envy asked suddenly. Ruby looked at her feet.

"Yes," she replied. She shuddered, though not from cold. "I remember it because I saw Ed use alchemy, and alchemy is what killed me." Envy seemed interested as Ruby went on. "I was almost twelve. Ed was returning from some trip he and Al were taking, after something happened to their mother. I was alone in the house, getting ready for bed, when I heard someone walking down the hall. I looked out the door and saw a man in a blue uniform. Before I could even say anything, I was gasping for breath as the heater in my room turned into a large spike and shot through me." Ruby began to cry, staring blankly at the sand. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Envy staring sympathetically at her.

"Killed by a State Alchemist. What a way to go, seeing as Ed is one." Ruby looked at him, searching his face for any signs of a joke. "You don't have to worry about that now, though. Homunculi can't be killed quite so easily."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Envy smiled.

"If you're like most homunculi, you can't be killed like any human would. It takes a lot more." Ruby sighed, looking up into the sky. What was she?

"Envy," she asked cautiously, "how am I here?" Envy didn't seem to understand. "If I'm dead, or was dead, how am I here now, walking and talking?" Envy looked at the fading shape of the moon.

"It could be many reasons. Some alchemist thought you worth their time and created you is all I can say for sure." Ruby seemed more troubled by the answer then the original question.

"Do you know anything about yourself, other then what's happened to you as a homunculus?" She asked. Envy cringed slightly.

"No." His answer was unconvincing but firm.

Al poked the fire, trying to make its flames come back. He stopped as his brother began to stir.

"What time is it, Al?" He asked with a yawn. He reached for his pocket-watch, but stopped when he realized he was holding something. He opened his hand to see half of Ruby's locket.

"What's that?" Al asked. Ed turned it over. On the back were etched two words.

"'I'm sorry', Al, Ruby was here. She left this." Ed stared down into the ashes of the fire. "Why didn't she say good-bye?" Al looked at the locket, sighing at the sight of his old friend. He turned away as Ed cried, not wanting to see his older brother so upset.

"I guess she didn't want to hurt you." Al murmured. Ed stood up.

"C'mon, Al, let's get going." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "We're going to find her."

"Brother, we can't! If she wanted to be found, don't you thing she would have left us some clue, or stayed here?" Al protested.

"I can't let her go, Al. Not again."

"Lust, I'm going to leave you for now. I have some things to take care of." Envy said. Ruby picked up Sammy and walked up to him. He wouldn't look at her as he got ready to leave.

"Go with him," Lust said. Ruby seemed confused.

"I thought you all stayed together," she inquired, "why is Envy leaving?" Lust sighed.

"We all have our own reasons for what we do. Until you find yours, you should stay with Envy. You'd be of no use to me right now, but it can get lonely on your own." She walked away, beckoning for Gluttony to follow.

Envy faced Ruby. "Sometimes I don't understand her," he said. "She tries to get others on her side then pushes them away when she doesn't need them anymore."

"So can I stay with you?" Ruby asked. Envy sighed.

"I guess you don't have a choice, now do you?" He said.

"Actually, I don't think I'll stay with you, at least, not for long." She added the last part when she saw Envy's expression seem saddened.

"Well, if you're ready, let's go." He started heading off, to the west of Moroa.


End file.
